Chapter 9
He didn't care about anything anymore—not even himself. What mattered now was getting to Mara in time. He knew he ran two red lights, nearly ran over a dozen people who jaywalked, and would be fined for drifting his car to the nearest entrance in the hospital, but he didn't care. He frantically ran towards Mara's ward, pushing the heavy metal doors open as he finally reached it.
It had taken him thirty minutes.
And he could hear Mara screaming.
He ran towards her voice, darting past the staff he was familiar with. Tears were forming in his eyes, hearing her pain yet not being close enough to comfort her. He reached the hallway, nearly slipping at the corner, fighting the urge to break down the door, his hands shaking at the knob.
Mara's eyes turned to him, but that was not what Eddie was looking at. He looked at how pale Mara's skin was, how bloody Alice was and how the blood had spread around the room.
"We're reaching Grade 3 hemorraging, Dr. Hanes," One of the nurses said urgently.
"I can see that," Alice snapped. "What I need is to stop it now."
"How do you stop it?" Eddie ran towards them. "What can I do?"
"None of us can do anything until these babies are out," She said angrily. "And the first one's just crowning."
Eddie peeked, used to the sight of it, but not the blood. He could see the round flesh that was his son's head, and froze. That's my son.
"EDDIE," Alice yelled. "Remember what I said a while ago?"
Eddie nodded, afraid to speak.
"I'm sorry but please stay with your wife for a while," She said firmly, trying to force the child out. "She's smart—she knows…and she instructed me to put the twins' life first."
"Why is she bleeding?" Eddie held back the tears. He looked at Mara, who was screaming despite looking quite dizzy from the drugs.
"I…miscalculated—take a deep breath, Mara." She said, stretching Mara further. "Having healthy—big, healthy twins for that matter—could make her suffocate, but it could also mean that, well…they're tearing her apart to get out."
Eddie gasped. Even with an epidural, he guessed that Mara was in so much pain. He felt Alice's bloody glove on top of his hand, gripping him and pulling her forward, her bloody face in front of his. "Go to her, Eddie." She said through gritted teeth. She had never had a fatality, and she was determined not to lose anyone unless it could be helped. "The chances are getting slim for her every minute this baby's still jammed in the uterus."
Eddie turned to Mara, who was gasping for air. He could see through the mirror that his eyes were red, tears streaming down his face. He felt helpless, and that made him hate himself. He did the only thing he could do, and stood beside Mara and reached for her hand, grasping it.
"You're going to make it, darling," Eddie whispered, leaning to kiss her. "Close your eyes and think of our children. I'm sorry I can't lighten your suffering, my love."
Mara bit her lip to keep screaming. And then he heard Alice grunt and the sound of something sliding as Mara finally bit her lip bloody and screamed. She began convulsing.
"Mrs. Gluskin!" Alice screamed. "There's—"
"FUCKING DO IT ALREADY," Mara screamed. Alice turned to one heavy nurse, who nodded before she pinned Mara's abdomen down. Mara was still convulsing, but her lower abdomen was pinned. Eddie was crying now, trying to whisper soothing words into her ear to no avail.
And as fast as it started, she stopped twitching. That only made it worse for Eddie, knowing what would most likely come next. Mara's hand stopped trying to crush his grasp, but she held on gently.
Mara breathed heavily, turning to smile weakly at him, though through the tears in his eyes, Eddie could see that it pained her to smile. She tugged at his sleeve, motioning him to lean forward, and he was quick to do so.
"I love you Eddie," She whispered hoarsely. "Take c-care of the twins p-p-please."
He heart Alice grunt as she did something to heave the baby out, and Mara gasped in pain once more. "No my darling," He said, desperately crying. "You. Are. Going. To. Get. Through. This."
Unless there is a god, Mara can't be dying today, Eddie thought to himself. He was raped by his father and uncle, practically abandoned by his mother, and now he was about to lose the only girl he could ever love.
It's not fair. He had helped save countless lives—only for some god to take away the only one that mattered. He was supposed to push her wheelchair out the hospital the day after. They were supposed to welcome their children into their apartment. They were supposed to re-decorate the apartment. He was done playing the unlucky guy, and he would be damned if he lost her.
She's only twenty-four, for God's sake. She doesn't deserve to die so early. Mara smiled, and laughed at his denial with a croaky voice that it almost sounded like she was choking. Eddie kissed her between each word. He held her hand tightly as if it were his life that was at stake, but to him, it kind of was. Mara had always been bright and active and was the reason he could genuinely smile and have the will to live another day. She had always been so lively that Eddie had always felt that he was continuously running just to catch up with her, but she had always been there all the same. Looking at her now, pale and bloody and weak, he could not hold back the sobs as he held her hand tighter, trying to keep the life inside her from fleeing.
At that point, he understood what Alice meant: you'll be smart to remember that there's only one of her. At that point, Eddie knew what he wanted. He wanted children, he wanted a family, but he also wanted a complete family, to raise a legacy with the woman he loved. He bitterly wished he could go back in time—he would do everything the same way except change his actions yesterday and convince Mara to abort the twins. But he knew that holding on to her and dreaming of what-ifs was pointless, and stayed with her for what was their last time together.
"I've always l-loved you, Eddie," She said tearfully, her voice getting weaker that Eddie had to lean closer so their lips were barely touching. "And I'll always love our ch-children…please t-tell them that."
"I will," He promised through his sobs. "I'll tell our children—our family—Mara, I promise. Oh my god—I love you, darling."
She gave his hand a very light squeeze. "We could have been…beautiful."
